For a long time, collaboration was enough.
Collaborating meant working in the same space.
Sharing information.
Exchanging information quickly.
Coordinating.
Reducing emails.
Back then, the problem wasn't the structure.
Teams were smaller.
Projects were simpler.
The issue of long timeframes was less critical.
Collaborative tools replaced informal practices:
phone calls,
text messages,
hallway chats,
internal emails, and CCs.
They formalized the informal.
And this was perceived as collaboration.
But work has changed profoundly.
Modern work has become multi-skilled,
multi-disciplinary, and involves multiple responsibilities.
And doing all of this in a single space has become counterproductive.
Collaboration mixes topics. Cooperation organizes them.
Today, the challenge is no longer simply exchanging messages.
It's about organizing workspaces, not just communication.
Because we've entered a new era.
The 21st century is about living together,
working together,
deciding together,
despite our differences.
Differences in culture.
Differences in professions.
Differences in generations.
Differences in visions and interests.
Coexistence isn't a technical problem.
It's a relational problem.
And a relational problem isn't solved by more information,
but by structured communication.
That's where cooperation becomes essential.
Cooperating doesn't mean everyone working in the same space.
It means working in different spaces for the same project.
Spaces organized by subject, by role, by responsibility.
Cooperation doesn't mix.
It structures.
It clarifies.
It makes work legible over time.
Another phenomenon has become central:
team turnover.
People change.
Projects continue.
But too often, knowledge disappears with those who leave.
Capitalize.
Pass on.
Ensure continuity.
Knowledge can no longer be produced at the end.
It must be captured during the work.
In discussions.
In decisions.
In communication itself.
The 20th century learned to inform.
The 21st century must learn to communicate.
Information enables knowledge.
Communication enables us to live and act together.
That is why we are not just changing tools.
We are entering a new era.